I might be onto a source of raw goats milk. Not sure what I'll make. I haven't seen the dairy, I can't be sure how good the sanitation is, although the milker says that her family drinks the milk raw and have never had a problem. So I'm thinking a longer maturing cheese rather than pasteurising the milk for a soft cheese. Any suggestions? My specific question is how to adapt standard recipes - I've searched the forum and have found a post suggesting half quantity of rennet - does that sound right? Plus the addition of some CaCl.Margaret

Hello Margaret. Hard or soft cheeses are fine with goat milk. The recipes are basically the same as for cow but with the addition of approx. 10ml CaCl2 per 100L milk. If the goats have a balanced diet this may not be necessary. Goat milk curd is very fragile so be gentle with your stirring. Good luck. NV.

I'm confused. I already add CaCl to my recipes because I am using supermarket cow milk. In that case, is there anything else I need to do if, say, I want to follow a standard recipe for Lancashire but use goat milk instead of cow? I heard somewhere that the rennet can/should be reduced. Truth?

The only adaptation you need to make for raw goat milk is to lower the temperature for your cheesemaking. For example, if the cow milk recipe calls for 90°F, then raise the goat milk temperature to 86-88°. If making a "cooked" cheese, if it says raise it to, say 115°, I'd raise it to 110-113°. I've found that the temperature may vary. If you find that the cheeses are too dry, lower the temperature more.

Another thing I've found is that goat milk cheeses age a lot more quickly than cow milk cheeses. I talked to at least one cheesemaker who says to cut rennet for any raw milk.

BTW, if using raw milk, you do not need calcium chloride. That's only needed for pasteurized milk.